A Houston health department doctor is accused by prosecutors of stealing nine doses coronavirus vaccine from a damaged vial and give it to family and friends. But Hasan Gokal insists he did nothing wrong and was only trying to make sure the vaccine wasn’t wasted, his lawyer said Thursday.
Harris County Public Health
Authorities allege that Gokal, who worked for Harris County Public Health, stole a vial of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine while working Dec. 29 at a vaccination site in a suburban Houston park.
Gokal told a health department employee earlier this month that “he had taken a leaky vial of the Moderna vaccine … at the end of the surgeries and that he had taken the vial to another location and vaccinated his friends and family. “, according to a possible complaint. .
Prosecutors determined that Gokal, 48, had given the vaccine to nine people, including his wife, according to the complaint.
“He took advantage of his position to line up his friends and family for people who had gone through legal process to be there,” said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. “What he did was illegal and he will be held responsible under the law.”
Paul Doyle, a lawyer for Gokal, called his client a “dedicated public servant who made sure that the doses of COVID-19 vaccines that would otherwise have expired went into the arms of people who met the criteria to receive it.”
“Harris County would have preferred Dr. Gokal to have lost the vaccines and is trying to discredit this man’s reputation in the process of supporting this policy. We look forward to our day in court to try and right this injustice. “Doyle said in a statement.
Gokal was fired after an internal investigation by the health department.
Authorities said Gokal ignored rules regarding pierced vaccine vials containing viable doses that prompt workers to ensure such doses are returned to headquarters so they can be administered to high-risk front-line workers, including healthcare workers and police officers. . and for vulnerable populations.
According to the health department, the misuse of the vaccine could lead to the loss of government funding for the province.
Gokal is charged with theft by an official. If convicted, he could face up to a year in prison and a fine of $ 4,000.
A pharmacist was arrested in Wisconsin in December accused of destroying 57 vials of the Moderna vaccine because he reportedly believed the vaccine would mutate the recipient’s DNA.